PHILADELPHIA — When the torture was too much, Don Mattingly motioned for J.T. Realmuto to stall. This is what it’s come to. The Phillies needed to buy time to replace Aaron Nola in the fifth inning of another game when they desperately needed their erstwhile workhorse to work. There is no joy in watching a pitcher carve through his opponent, using just 41 pitches for the first nine outs of the game, only to know the barrage is just a matter of time.“Honestly,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said, “early in that game, I thought he was going to roll.”It always feels like it’s all happening again for Nola until it isn’t. This whole thing is becoming uncomfortable; Nola’s start in Monday night’s 11-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates was the 302nd of his career, putting him in sole possession of third place for most starts in Phillies history. He has thrown 28,642 pitches in the regular season for the Phillies. He has meant so much to this franchise, which craved a rotation stabilizer in the lean years. They reveled in his October successes once postseason baseball returned to Citizens Bank Park.But Nola was barely a part of the plan last October, and this version of him is worse. The Phillies cited health issues and a disjointed routine as reasons to explain his nightmarish 2025 season. He showed improved velocity in spring training and looked reinvigorated during a successful run with Team Italy during the World Baseball Classic.But his strikeout rate is down compared to last season. His walk rate is up. He’s allowing more hits and home runs. He has reached the sixth inning only four times in 17 starts. It is jarring.“Definitely haven’t really had a stretch like this ever in my career,” Nola said. “I mean, over my career, I feel like I’ve been kind of an innings eater since I’ve been with the Phillies. It’s been tough. I haven’t really stepped foot in the sixth inning too much this year. It’s a little bit different. But have to keep working and believe I can get back to that point.”The Mets' troubles don't solely belong to former manager Carlos MendozaNola has made 34 starts since the beginning of last season. He has a 6.02 ERA in that span. It’s the third-highest among pitchers with at least 150 innings. Only Jack Kochanowicz (6.58) and German Márquez (6.52) are worse. Neither of them is due $24.6 million per season through 2030, like Nola is.He allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 4 1/3 innings against Pittsburgh. The Pirates scored six times in the fifth.